


One Call Away

by seaunicorn



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Cell Phones, F/F, Light Angst, Partly Canon Divergence, Partly canon compliant, Phone Calls & Telephones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 10:57:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9381455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seaunicorn/pseuds/seaunicorn
Summary: Alex can't figure out why all things keep pointing back to Lucy Lane.(A look into a few phone calls shared between Alex and Lucy.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Originally this was just going to be Lucy's call to Alex after Myriad.... and then it sort of got out of hand. I don't know what happened. I didn't sleep until 4am.

Alex turns over the burner phone in her hands.

She just purchased it at the drug store across the street.  It was the cheapest phone they had, and she only bought the smallest plan of a single five-minute phone call.

J’onn doesn’t even know she’s here, sitting on this park bench, trying to build up the courage to make a stupid phone call.

They’re supposed to be on the run, in hiding, and most importantly, trying to find Cadmus and her dad.  But she can’t keep going knowing that Kara doesn’t know if she’s safe.

But Alex doesn’t punch in Kara’s number.  It’s not Kara’s phone that rings on the other end of the line, and it’s not Kara that picks up.

“Hello?”  Lucy’s voice comes through the line, muffled and cautious.

“Lucy,” Alex breathes.

“Who is this?” Lucy questions, her voice hard and intimidating.  “How did you get this number?”

“Lucy, it’s Alex.  Alex Danvers.”

There’s a pause, and for a moment Alex thinks the call dropped or she hung up.  But then she hears a door close through the receiver and a sharp intake of breath.

“Alex?”

“Yeah.”

“What the _hell_ are you doing calling me?” Lucy demands.  “You’re supposed to be in hiding, doing everything possible to _not be found_.”

“That’s why I’m calling you and not Kara,” Alex says.  “They know I have a sister, they’re bound to be watching her.  No one knows that you helped.”  She hears Lucy sigh, but doesn’t reply, so Alex continues.  “Can you just tell Kara that I’m okay?  That I’m safe.  Please.”

All Alex can hear is more silence, but after a deafening moment, Lucy mutters, “Okay.”

Alex breathes a sigh of relief, but she makes no move to hang up.  That’s what she called for, right?

Lucy doesn’t end the call either.

“Hey, Lucy,” Alex starts tentatively.  “I realized I never thanked you.  For saving me, and J’onn.”

She can almost see Lucy shaking her head as an amused chuckle escapes her lips.  “You don’t have to thank me, Alex.  I’m the one who put you there.  I should be… _apologizing_ , begging for your forgiveness, I should—“

“You don’t have to do that,” Alex replies.  Lucy can’t see her, but she shakes her head anyway.  “You were just doing your job, you didn’t know any better—“

“But I should have known better.”  Lucy sucks in a sharp breath and hesitates.  Alex doesn’t know what to say, so she waits.  “I’m so sorry, Alex.  I shouldn’t have sent you away—or J’onn, I just—I don’t know what I can do to make it up to you.”

Alex hadn’t expected an apology, so this catches her off guard.  She pulls her legs up onto the bench with her and sits cross-legged.  She nervously pulls at a loose thread on her pants.  “Just keep doing what you’re doing, Lucy,” Alex says finally.  “Keep looking out for Kara, and everyone at the DEO.  Keep them safe.  I trust you, Lucy.  You’ve got this.”

Lucy doesn’t reply.  Alex hears her phone beep, signaling that she’s almost out of time.  “I—I have to go,” she mutters.  “I only bought a few minutes to make this call.”

“Of course.”  Lucy clears her throat.  “Stay safe, Alex.”

Alex nods.  “You too.”

She hears Lucy take a slow breath, as if she has something at the tip of her tongue to say.  “Alex—“

The line goes dead before Lucy can finish.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Alex curses under her breath.  She should’ve bought more minutes.  She should’ve been paying attention to the time.  She tries calling back, but it’s no use.  Her time is all used up.  “Fuck!”  Alex chucks the phone against the sidewalk and smashes to pieces.

Alex doesn’t cry.  She rests her head in her hands and tries to keep her breathing and her heart rate under control because that’s what she’s been trained to do.  She blinks away the tears that threaten to spill, but she doesn’t cry.

J’onn finds her there later, head resting in her hands, breathing in and out, still staring at the broken phone on the ground in front of her.

 

* * *

 

  

Alex watches her sister through the glass, reciting words of hope, words of promise, words of love.  She holds her breath.

They don’t know if this is going to work.  They don’t know if this is going to break through Myriad’s signal and free everyone, or if all of National City will be left as mindless drones for the rest of their lives, but they have hope.  And Alex holds her breath.

It's not until phones start ringing that Alex allows herself to breathe.  She spots the name of Max’s assistant on his caller ID.  J’onn receives a call from Vasquez.  Cat Grant’s tears of relief can only tell Alex it must be her son.  She’s surprised to hear her own phone buzzing too.  Everyone who cares about her is in this room already—Eliza and Kara.

Alex glances down and feels twelve different emotions, most of which being some variation of shock or surprise, when she sees Lucy’s name pop up on her phone screen.  She quickly pokes into the studio Kara is in to tell her the good news, that they got through, before she grabs her phone and slips out into the hallway.

“Danvers,” Alex answers professionally.

“Enough with the formality, Alex,” Lucy huffs.  “Kara did it.  We’re okay.”

“I know,” Alex sighs, a small smile creeping onto her lips.  “She did it.”  After a moment of relief, Alex resumes her professional demeanor.  “What’s your status there?”

“A couple injuries but no agent casualties,” is Lucy’s immediate response.  “Also, I think Kara damaged the locks so neither us nor the alien prisoners could get out, so we’re going to need some assistance with that eventually.  But everyone is safe.”

“That’s good,” Alex nods.  “Everyone’s safe.”  _You’re safe_.

Silence seems to be a common denominator in all her calls with Lucy, because it falls again, and neither one has the desire to hang up.  “Alex, I didn’t call on DEO business,” Lucy whispers.  “Vasquez is already talking to J’onn.”

“Technically neither of us are employed by the DEO anymore.”

“No one here actually believes that.”

Alex chuckles softly, but a small part of her is relieved.  She had feared her fellow agents would feel betrayed or hurt, but they still trust her and J’onn.  “Why did you call, then?”

“For you,” Lucy says simply.  “I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

Alex bites her lip.  “I’m good,” she says.  “Thanks.”

“Alex, we have to get J’onn back to the DEO for—oh, sorry I didn’t mean to—who are you talking to?“

“Kara!”  Kara’s face pokes through the door with a curious smile.  “Um, I’ll be there, just give me a second, okay?”

Kara nods her head vigorously and disappears back into the studio.

“You gotta go?” Lucy asks.

Alex nods.  “Yeah, we have to get J’onn to the DEO.  He’s hurt.”

“So,” Lucy starts.  “I’ll see you soon.”

“I’ll see you.”  Alex still doesn’t hang up.  She can hear Lucy’s shallow breath on the other end of the line.  “Lucy?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

Alex ends the call before Lucy gets the chance to reply.

 

* * *

 

 

Alex’s new lab is _amazing_.  Like, the cave base was cool, but she’s more than happy that she and J’onn have been transferred to the city base full time.  It’s also only a couple blocks from Maggie’s precinct, so Alex can easily slip out and see her on lunch breaks.

It’s also easy to stay holed up in her lab until early hours of the morning.

It’s almost midnight when the phone in her lab rings.  Alex is startled from her work and looks up at the phone.  She stares, blinks, and her mouth falls open in confusion.  She honestly never even realized there was a phone in this room.  She looks around, out the windows, but the rest of the DEO is empty because everyone’s gone home (save for Winn who is fast asleep at his computer).

Alex frowns, then hesitantly picks up the line.  “Um, hello?”

“Who’s this?” comes a voice on the other end.

“Who’s _this_?” Alex asks.  “You called _me_.”

“Alex?  It’s Lucy.  Lucy Lane.”

Alex blinks. _What?_   She hasn’t heard from Lucy Lane in months.  Not since Myriad.  “Lucy?  How’d you get this number?  Where are you?”

“Sorry,” Lucy mutters.  “I was trying to call J’onn, but I think I got the extension wrong.”

“You’re telling me,” Alex muses.  “I didn’t even know there was a phone in here.”  She shakes her head, making a mental note to ask J’onn about that later.  “How—how have you been?  _Where_ have you been?!”

“Alex, I’m fine,” Lucy says with a laugh.  “I’m still at the cave base out in the desert, so I don’t get the chance to get into the city very often.”

“What are you even doing out there?”

“It’s a new military based faction of the DEO,” Lucy explains.  “So because of my military experience…. Here I am.”

“There you are.”

“Do you think you could transfer me to J’onn?” Lucy asks.

Alex frowns.  She likes talking to Lucy.  She _missed_ Lucy.  But this could be important.  “See, I totally would,” Alex stutters.  “But I actually do not know how to transfer phone calls.  Nor do I know J’onn’s extension.  Although I _do_ know that he went home two hours ago.”

“Right,” Lucy sighs.  “I suppose not everyone works through the night.”

“I suppose not,” Alex sighs.  “Well, I know why I’m working so late, but why are you working so late?”

“You know how it is, Alex,” Lucy mutters.  “Sometimes you get so caught up in the work that you don’t realize how late it is until you look outside and the sun is gone.”  Alex chuckles in amusement, because that’s exactly why she’s still working.  “If I didn’t know any better, Alex, I’d think that you were concerned about me.”

“Concerned?  Me?” Alex gapes in mock denial.  “Psh, that’s ridiculous.  Of course I’m concerned about you, Lucy!”  Alex doesn’t mean to lose her temper or raise her voice, but the way Lucy acts so casual as if nothing is wrong grates on her nerves.  It’s as if Lucy doesn’t care.  “I haven’t seen or heard from you in months and then you call me by mistake out of the blue.  What’s up with that?”

The other line falls silent, but Alex can still hear faint breathing, so she knows Lucy is still there, still listening.  “I didn’t think…” Lucy begins, but trails off.

“You didn’t think what?” Alex questions.

Lucy contemplates a moment.  “I didn’t think we were close… or that we were friends or anything.  That you cared, or wanted to see me.”

It’s Alex’s turn to be speechless.  “Of _course_ I care about you, Lucy.  You’re important to Kara, and to the DEO… and me.”  She hesitates a moment, but then continues with more confidence.  “You’re important to me, okay?”

“But I—“

“I don’t care about that anymore,” Alex cuts her off, knowing full well that Lucy wants to bring up the Cadmus incident.  “I stopped caring the moment you saved us.  Okay?”

She hears a sniff, and a sigh through the phone.  “Okay,” comes Lucy’s tired voice.

“Good,” Alex says plainly, relieved and hopeful that they can _finally_ put this past them.  “So, seriously, how have you been?”

Lucy starts talking about how it’s been refreshing to be out of the city and to focus on her work and how amazing her new team is, but Alex’s phone vibrates and she’s torn away from the conversation to read a new text message.

**Maggie (11:42:04):** _You still coming over tonight, Danvers?_

“Shit,” Alex mutters out loud without thinking, cutting Lucy off mid-sentence.

“Let me guess,” Lucy says with a sigh.  “You have to go?”

“I’m so sorry,” Alex groans.  “I just lost track of time and I was supposed to meet my girlfriend like, ten minutes ago.”

The world ‘girlfriend’ slips out without Alex thinking about it, and for a moment, Alex regrets it.  She fears Lucy’s silence is akin to a negative reaction, considering her military background.  That’s the last thing Alex wants tonight.

“Girlfriend?” Lucy asks tentatively.

“Yeah,” is Alex’s anxious reply.

“Damn,” Lucy muses, “I guess I’ve missed a lot these past few months.  You’re gonna give me a full update on that sometime soon, right?”

Alex breathes a sigh of relief.  Although she hears something _off_ in Lucy’s voice that she can’t quite place, Alex doesn’t think much of it.  “Yeah, of course,” she says with a soft laugh.  “As long as you don’t disappear on me again.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“I’m serious, Lane,” Alex says adamantly.  “No more going AWOL for two months.  Kara misses you so we’re going to need regular phone calls and in-person visits occasionally.  I’m pretty sure she thinks you’re dead.”  Alex doesn’t know why she threw Kara’s name in there, but she does know that Kara misses Lucy.  Maybe Alex just doesn’t want to admit that she misses Lucy as much as she knows she does.

“I promise,” Lucy says.

“Good.”

“I’ll see you soon, Alex.”

“Goodnight, Lucy.”

Alex doesn’t hang up.  Not right away, at least.  She listens to the catch in Lucy’s breath as she waits in anticipation for the end of the call.  She listens to the faint hum of DEO machinery in the background, and—was that the squeak of a bat?  For a moment, Alex fears it’s been too long, but Lucy hasn’t ended the call either.

What finally gets Alex to hang up is when her phone vibrates on the table, this time with a call from Maggie.  She hangs up the office phone quickly, without another word and answers.

“Hey babe,” Alex says.  “No, I’m fine, I just lost track of time at work.  Yeah, I’ll be there soon.”

She hangs up and looks around at her lab, which suddenly feels much more empty than it did a minute ago, when she was on the phone with Lucy.

Alex hastily packs up her things and heads down to the parking garage.  She’s about to hop on her bike when her phone vibrates again, this time with a text from Lucy.

**Lucy (11:58:49):** _Good to hear your voice tonight, Alex_

Alex can’t fight the way her lips turn up in a small, satisfied smile, nor the blush that colors her cheeks.

**Alex (11:59:34):** _You too. Hope I can hear it again soon_

Alex mounts her bike and starts the engine.  Driving down the street to her girlfriend’s apartment, her mind is still occupied with thoughts of Lucy Lane.

 

* * *

 

  

Alex still doesn’t see Lucy.  She gets the occasional text, checking in, apologizing for not being able to come into the city.  She hasn’t even called again.

Then Kara goes missing, and Alex is half a bottle of whiskey into the night when she takes it upon herself to call.

The line rings three times before it clicks as Lucy picks up and answers the phone with a sleepy and muffled, “Hello?”

“Shit,” Alex curses, “did I wake you up?  Fuck, I’m so sorry Lucy, I’ll call back later, or—you know what, I shouldn’t have called, I’ll just—“

“Alex!” Lucy cuts her off.  “Are you okay?  What happened?”

Alex hears rustling on the other end of the line, and it sounds like Lucy is getting out of bed and grabbing her keys, and that just makes Alex feel even worse for waking her up.

“No, no I’m fine,” Alex mumbles.  “I mean, I’m not, but you don’t have to—you don’t… fuck.”

The rustling stops, and it gets quiet for a moment.  “Alex, what’s wrong?”

Alex takes a deep breath and sits upright from her position sprawled against the couch.  “Kara’s missing.  And, like, the logical part of my brain knows she’s fine because she’s a fucking superhero, but the protective big sister part of my brain just feels so… helpless, because there’s nothing I can do.”

“Where—I mean, maybe a stupid question because she’s missing, but where is she?” Lucy asks, and the way she asks, stuttering over her question, is so endearing that Alex tries not to laugh.

“Another universe,” Alex mutters with a frown.  “Saving the world.  It’s only been a couple of days, but she didn’t even tell me before she left, just left me a stupid note.  And it’s not like I can talk to Maggie about this because she doesn’t even know about Kara!”

Lucy’s breath hitches.  “Maggie?” she asks.  “Is that…?”

“My girlfriend,” Alex sighs.  She feels herself sobering up at the sudden palpable tension in the call.  “I’m sorry,” she quickly backtracks.  “I shouldn’t have called.  I woke you up, and it’s not even a big deal, and I’m just gonna… I don’t know.  I’m sorry.”

“Alex, wait—“

Alex hangs up.

Lucy calls back four times before Alex falls asleep on the couch, watching her phone as it vibrates on the coffee table.

 

* * *

 

 

Alex ignores Lucy’s calls for a while, because for some reason, she decides to call nearly every day now.  No, Alex can’t talk to Lucy right now.  She has some reevaluating to do before she talks to Lucy again.  Alex needs to think about why she feels uncomfortable talking about her girlfriend with Lucy, and why she _misses_ Lucy so damn much, and why, no matter what, her thoughts always seem to lead back to Lucy.

It’s going on her third week of ignoring Lucy’s calls when Alex absentmindedly answers a call from Vasquez while filling out some paperwork at home.

“Danvers,” she says sharply.

“So you _are_ ignoring me,” comes a voice that definitely does not belong to Susan Vasquez.

“Lucy?” Alex asks, feeling embarrassed heat rise up in her as well as slight annoyance.  “Why are you calling from Susan’s phone.”

“Because you won’t answer my calls and I wanted to make sure you weren’t dead.”

“You could’ve asked Kara.”

Alex can practically hear Lucy’s eye-roll from the other line.  “We’re talking, Alex,” she says.  “Now.  Whether you like it or not.”

Alex sighs.  “What did you want to talk about?”

“Well first of all, why are you ignoring me?”

“I wasn’t ignoring—“

“ _Alex_.”

“Okay, fine,” Alex huffs.  “I was ignoring you.  Happy?”  She moves the paperwork from her lap to the coffee table and props her feet up on the table as well.  “And I was ignoring you because I was confused.”

“Confused?” Lucy asks after a moment.  “About what?”

“Gee, I don’t know,” Alex says sarcastically as the frustration builds inside her.  “Maybe it’s about how you disappear for two months and promise I’ll see you more and then never do more than send me a couple texts to check in.  Maybe it’s about how after practically radio silence you try calling me every day.  Or how you seem to tense up whenever I bring up my girlfriend!”

“What does Maggie have to do with this—“

Alex cuts her off, but when she continues her voice is soft.  She’s not as angry, but it’s still hard to talk.  “Maybe it’s because I don’t _like_ talking about my girlfriend with you, and that confuses me, because I like talking about my girlfriend.  Just ask Kara, or Winn, or James, they’ll tell you.  I can’t shut up about her.  Maybe it’s because you’re always at the back of my goddamn mind and I can’t seem to make you go away.”

“Alex,” Lucy sighs.

“You’re the one who wanted to talk,” Alex snips.  “I like you, okay?  But I _can’t_ like you because I have a girlfriend whom I like very much and it’s not fair to her, and I never see you anyway, so I just think we should go back to how things used to be.  You never call and I never call and we’ll just leave it at that.”  Alex finishes rambling and finds that she’s breathing heavily, a little riled up from frustration.  Lucy says nothing for a moment.

“Alex, I’m going back to DC,” Lucy finally says.

“What?”

“I just—I wanted to clear the air with you before I left,” Lucy explains.  “I don’t know how long I’ll be there.  But if that’s how you feel then that’s fine and I can leave you alone.  I’m sorry.”

Alex doesn’t know what she can say.  She’s said her piece, but that’s not what she was expecting to hear in return.  It’s a solution to her problem, she supposes, but not necessarily the solution she was looking for.

“For what it’s worth, I’ll miss you,” Lucy says, quiet and vulnerable.

Alex can’t find the words she needs to say, she doesn’t know what she wants to say or what Lucy wants to hear.  She just gapes like an idiot until Lucy ends the call with a sigh and a click.

 

* * *

 

 

It’s late, even by Alex’s standards.  Heading home from work at four o’clock in the morning is probably a new personal best for her.  Or would it be a new personal worst?  Alex shrugs at the thought as she hops off her bike in the parking garage of her apartment building.  She takes off her helmet and slings her bag over her shoulder.

Alex feels her phone vibrate in her pocket and almost rolls her eyes in annoyance.  It’s so late (or would it be early?), and as much as she loves her job she’s human and needs to sleep.

 _But it could be important_ , Alex thinks.  And with a sigh, she answers her phone with a yawn.

“Danvers.”

“Don’t you sound chipper.”

Alex stops in her tracks and blinks, thinking she’s just heard a ghost.  She drags her phone away from her face and stares at the caller ID, making sure that she’s hearing things correctly and isn’t just insanely tired or deaf, but the four letters staring back at her tell Alex that she is in fact correct.

“Lucy?” Alex gasps.  It’s been a year and two months since their last phone call, since Lucy moved back to DC and never looked back.

“I hope it’s okay that I called,” Lucy mutters.

“No, it’s—it’s fine,” Alex replies quickly.  “It’s just… been a while.”  She heads over to the elevator and pushes the button, which doesn’t light up.  She glances up and finds a sign taped next to the elevator informing her that it is currently broken, which means she has to take the stairs tonight.  She groans and trudges in the other direction.

“I know,” Lucy says.

“I’m sorry,” Alex says quickly.  “It’s probably my fault.  Because of what I—what I said.  I didn’t mean it.”

“You didn’t?” Lucy asks curiously.

“No, I mean, I _did_.  At the time, at least,” Alex sighs and brushes her hair out of her face.  “I was frustrated and I took that out on you.  I’m sorry.”  She pushes open the door to the stairwell and starts climbing up the four flights of stairs to her own apartment.

“It’s not your fault,” Lucy reassures.  “I probably could have reached out sooner.”

The call grows quiet besides Alex’s strained breathing as she treks up the stairs.  She takes a break on the third floor to catch her breath.  “Maggie and I broke up a few months ago,” she says plainly.

Lucy’s reply is quick.  “I heard,” she says.  “From Kara.  I’m sorry.”  She doesn’t sound sorry.  “How are you holding up?”

“I’m good,” Alex says.  “I mean, we’re friends, and I think it’s better this way.”  She takes a deep breath and continues up the last flight of stairs.

“If you think so.”

Alex struggles up the last flight of stairs and opens the door, trying to catch her breath again.  “Why are you calling me now, anyway?” Alex asks, suddenly curious.  She patters down the hallway.  “And why so late?”

Lucy chuckles softly.  “That’s a really funny story, Alex…” she trails off.  Alex is about to ask what she means when she turns the corner to her apartment to find Lucy there, leaning against the door, phone to her hear.

Alex almost drops all her shit.

Lucy’s teeth dig into her bottom lip as she slowly lowers her phone and gives Alex a nervous wave.  “Hey.”

Alex’s jaw drops.  Literally.  If she thought it was a long time since she last spoke with Lucy, the last time she _saw_ Lucy was even longer.

She looks good, her hair is a little longer, still curly.  There’s bags under her eyes and her face is makeup-free, something Alex honestly hasn’t seen before, but she still looks stunning.  Lucy has a small duffel bag clutched at her side.

“I hope it’s okay that I just kind of… dropped in.”

Alex gives herself a moment longer to gape.  “Wh—what are you doing here?”

Lucy shrugs.  “My flight got in about an hour ago, and as soon as I was here, I didn’t want to see anyone else before I saw you.”

Alex shakes her head.  She doesn’t move any closer, keeping her safe distance.  “What are you saying?”

Lucy takes a deep breath and sets down her bag on the floor next to her.  “I thought about you every day in DC,” she says.  “I don’t know if it’s my place to say anything, or if I deserve to say anything, but if I’m being honest with myself, I came back for you.  And I just—I want you to give us a chance.  Because I missed my chance, before you met Maggie.  We never got a chance before, and I want us to have a chance.”

Alex lets herself relax.  She steps in closer to Lucy, and sets her helmet down on the ground next to Lucy’s bag.  “You mean that?” Alex asks, as her heart beats a little faster, and a small, hesitant smile grows on her lips.

“Every word,” Lucy says, matter-of-factly.

Alex wraps her arms around Lucy’s waist and pulls her in, hugging her tightly.  She buries her face in Lucy’s hair and breathes in deep.  Lucy relaxes in her arms after a moment, and holds Alex just a little tighter.

Alex kisses her temple.  “I missed you,” she whispers.

“You too,” Lucy mutters.  She tilts her head up, and Alex meets her halfway in a kiss, long-anticipated by both women.  Lucy’s small frame fits perfectly in Alex’s arms, and Lucy’s hands come up to the back of her neck, holding her close, scratching gently at the base of her scalp.

There are no butterflies, no sparks or fireworks; just sweet relief.  It’s like that first drink of water under a scorching summer sun, or stepping into the shower after a long workout, the hot water heavenly on your muscles.  It’s exactly what she needs.

Their kiss breaks, and Lucy nuzzles into Alex’s neck.  Alex reaches behind her to unlock the door of her apartment and holds it open for them.  “Come on,” she mutters, giving Lucy another brief kiss.  “Let’s get some sleep.  We can talk more in the morning.”

Lucy nods as she picks up her bag and follows Alex inside, grasping her hand tightly.  “I’d like that.”


End file.
